High-strength structural members have been formed using hot-rolling techniques which are well known in the art. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,998, a wide variety of high-strength steel structural members are formed from high-strength steel blanks. This patent discloses the formation of high-strength steel members having a uniform cross-sectional configuration over at least a portion, and often substantially all of its entire length. Structural members having a variety of shapes such as O, L, C, Z, T, I, W, U, or V shapes were formed by hot-forging or rolling. The structural members disclosed have at least one flange included in their cross-sectional configurations which has a thickness less than an overall outer dimension of the cross-sectional configuration and provides increased load-bearing capability to the structural members. According to the method described, the mechanical properties of tensile strength and yield strength of the finished product are substantially the same as or greater than the material used to form the member and the member is produced without further strengthening processing steps. In the example of this patent, a high-strength AISI 1552 steel stock was hot rolled into an I-beam structural member. The I-beam structural member had a cross-sectional configuration having a web portion and opposed flanges extending from the ends of the web portion. The opposed flanges had an average tapered thickness that was essentially the same as the thickness of the web portion.
Structural members having reduced web thicknesses and thicker flanges have also been proposed. However, there is a need for improved structural members that offer weight reductions, cost savings and other advantages without significant reduction in strength.